ABV (Alcohol By Volume) Calculator

If you are a home-brewer who loves creating homemade beer or wine, the ABV, or alcohol by volume calculator will enable you to make a reliable estimation of the alcohol your brew contains. Using original and final gravity readings, you can also determine how many units of alcohol there are in your drink according to your national guidelines.

Using the Calculator

First, choose the formula to calculate your brew's ABV. Then, depending on the measurement device you are employing, choose Degree Plato or Specific Gravity. Next, enter your readings, both for original gravity (OG) and final gravity (FG). If you also wish to determine the number of alcohol units in a drink, select a country and type in the drink's volume. Finally, click "Calculate".

Understanding alcohol by volume

Often expressed as ABV or alc/vol, alcohol by volume is a standard measurement of the alcohol, or ethanol, content in an alcoholic drink.

Part of the process of producing beer or wine involves adding yeast to a sugary solution. As the liquid ferments, the sugars are consumed by the yeast and it is this process that produces alcohol. Alcohol density in water is less than sugar density in water, and thus variations in a solution's specific gravity (SG) pre and post-fermentation is measured using a hydrometer (a device that measures the SG or density of a liquid in relation to water). This enables the alcohol volume of a solution to be estimated.

A few different formulas can be used to determine ABV (scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a list).